I stumbled upon an old article from the '80s that proposes a view of EFAs contrarian to most of what's found on the forums - as essential for immunity.
The article is titled "Can essential fatty acid deficiency predispose to AIDS?"
Original publication.
NCBI article.
Here's a particularly interesting excerpt from the piece:
"Kohn and colleagues showed the linoleic acid and arachidonic acid can inactivate animal herpes, influenza, Sendai and Sindbis viruses within minutes of contact. Schlager and associates demonstrated that peritoneal macrophages in mice can be activated by linolenic acid and that linolenic-acid-enriched macrophages are markedly tumouricidal; they conclusively proved that lymphokine activation of macrophages is due to an increase in their linolenic acid content to about two to three times control values. My colleagues and I showed that the genetic damage induced by radiation and benzo[a]pyrene in mice can be prevented or reversed by y-linolenic acid. Hence, it is conceivable that a lack or deficiency of linoleic and y-linolenic acid in a person can lead to failure of virus inactivation during viral infections, that macrophage activation may not occur and that genetic damage due to these viruses and other agents cannot be reversed or prevented. As a result, immunodeficiency may occur, and viruses may proliferate and cause genetic damage leading to the activation of oncogenes and cancer."
It's interesting to me, because during the "peak" of my "Peat" eating, where my PUFA was under 3 grams a day, I experienced treatment-resistant plantar warts and a much higher rate of cold & flu infections.
Now that my PUFA consumption has increased, I get sick way less and haven't had another bout of warts.
The article is titled "Can essential fatty acid deficiency predispose to AIDS?"
Original publication.
NCBI article.
Here's a particularly interesting excerpt from the piece:
"Kohn and colleagues showed the linoleic acid and arachidonic acid can inactivate animal herpes, influenza, Sendai and Sindbis viruses within minutes of contact. Schlager and associates demonstrated that peritoneal macrophages in mice can be activated by linolenic acid and that linolenic-acid-enriched macrophages are markedly tumouricidal; they conclusively proved that lymphokine activation of macrophages is due to an increase in their linolenic acid content to about two to three times control values. My colleagues and I showed that the genetic damage induced by radiation and benzo[a]pyrene in mice can be prevented or reversed by y-linolenic acid. Hence, it is conceivable that a lack or deficiency of linoleic and y-linolenic acid in a person can lead to failure of virus inactivation during viral infections, that macrophage activation may not occur and that genetic damage due to these viruses and other agents cannot be reversed or prevented. As a result, immunodeficiency may occur, and viruses may proliferate and cause genetic damage leading to the activation of oncogenes and cancer."
It's interesting to me, because during the "peak" of my "Peat" eating, where my PUFA was under 3 grams a day, I experienced treatment-resistant plantar warts and a much higher rate of cold & flu infections.
Now that my PUFA consumption has increased, I get sick way less and haven't had another bout of warts.